U.S. Air Force stealth bombers targeted hardened underground Houthi weapons facilities in Yemen to counter attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea.
The U.S. military launched precision airstrikes overnight on weapons storage sites in Yemen controlled by Iran-backed Houthi rebels, the Pentagon confirmed. The strikes, conducted by long-range stealth B-2 bombers, targeted five fortified underground sites containing weapons used by the Houthis to attack military and commercial vessels in the Red Sea region, according to U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
“These targeted strikes were authorized by President Biden to degrade the Houthis’ ability to carry out destabilizing activities and to protect U.S. forces and personnel in one of the world’s most critical waterways,” Austin said in a statement. The Houthis, labeled as Specially Designated Global Terrorists, have disrupted international commerce and endangered civilian lives through attacks on vessels transiting the Red Sea, the Bab Al-Mandeb Strait, and the Gulf of Aden, Austin added.
The operation is a powerful display of U.S. military capability, demonstrating the ability to strike deeply buried and hardened targets. “We can reach these assets anytime, anywhere,” Austin stressed, affirming the United States’ global strike capabilities.
U.S. Central Command confirmed that the “multiple strikes” were carried out without civilian casualties, although further damage assessments are still underway. The Houthi-run Yemen News Agency claimed that the strikes involved British warplanes in addition to U.S. forces and that 15 raids hit targets around the capital Sana’a and Saada governorate.
Reports from satellite images suggest that the targeted sites included military bases the Houthis had been expanding underground. Houthi spokesman Mohammed al-Bukhaiti condemned the strikes, asserting that the attacks by the U.S. and Britain would not deter their military operations, which they claim are in support of Gaza. Al-Bukhaiti also accused the U.S. and Britain of responsibility for civilian deaths in Gaza, calling Israel their “military proxy.”
The airstrikes are the second major assault on Houthi offensive capabilities in two weeks. Earlier this month, the U.S. and Britain conducted joint naval and airstrikes on 15 Houthi targets in Yemen after the group escalated its threats against Israel. In September, the Houthis launched a major missile and drone attack against U.S. Navy ships in the Babel-Madeb Strait, which U.S. forces intercepted.
The Houthis, aligned with Iran, have escalated attacks on international shipping, including Israel, and disrupted trade through the Red Sea since Israel’s conflict with Hamas began in October. Over 100 ships have been attacked, with two sunk and another hijacked. The threat posed by the Houthis has led shipping lines to take costly detours around Africa’s southern coast to avoid the volatile region.
